Crawford, Knicks win second straight

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- In the last two games, the New York Knicks
have realized the importance of ball movement, and it has led to
their first winning streak in nearly two months.

Jamal Crawford led six players in double figures with 29 points
as the Knicks raced out to a big lead in the first half en route
to a 105-93 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday
night at Madison Square Garden.

Zach Randolph collected 14 points and 11 rebounds and reserve
Nate Robinson had 14 and eight assists for New York, which won
consecutive games for the third time this season and first time
since home victories over Chicago and Utah, November 24-26.

Quentin Richardson chipped in 13 points and seven assists and
Eddy Curry and Fred Jones scored 10 apiece for New York, which
shot 51 percent (42-of-82), including 11-of-18 from the arc.

In between winning streaks, the Knicks had dropped 17 of 23
games with 11 defeats coming by double digits.

In their last two games, an 89-65 win over Detroit and Tuesday's
victory, New York has totaled 47 assists, including 26 against
Washington - two shy of its season best set in last Tuesday's
win at Chicago.

"Ball movement is huge," Knicks forward David Lee said. "It is
beautiful basketball on offense. It is something we want to
improve on."

New York came into the contest averaging 17.4 assists - the
worst in the league - but it figured it out early and often
on Tuesday.

The Knicks had seven assists and took a 16-point lead after one
and, despite allowing Washington to creep within four early in
the fourth quarter, they were able to win.

"Anytime you have 26 assists and nine turnovers, you are
starting to believe in your teammates," New York coach Isiah
Thomas said. "I thought we've had honest play with honest
effort and I think our players are now starting to trust each
other and believe in their teammates."

"Sometimes it takes a while to get chemistry," Crawford added.
"But we don't care about who's scoring and who's doing what.
Anytime when you have five or six guys in double figures, that's
great balance and that's hard for the opposition to play
against."

The Knicks improved to 11-26 and have won three of their last
five following a seven-game losing streak. They have had four
games with at least 20 assists just once in their previous 10
contests.

"That's what coaching is all about, trying to blend your
personalities and convince your team if they play together they
can win," Thomas said. "Most of them have made it and got to
where they are by being individuals. We want to play for the
New York Knicks and not the name on the back of the shirt."

"I wouldn't say necessarily selfish," Crawford added. "But a
lot of our guys on our team have been scorers their whole
careers, so it's an adjustment for everybody. But once we
figure it out, it doesn't matter who gets the credit."

While the ball movement was the most positive aspect of the win,
it also was the second time in as many games that the Knicks
were able to capitalize on a team playing four games in five
nights.

But this one was not as easy as Sunday's 89-65 win over Detroit,
which had played overtime in Charlotte on Saturday night.

Neither side was going to use that as an excuse, although it was
evident that the Wizards were sluggish from the outset before
nearly catching up.

"We played Detroit," Robinson said. "We understand Detroit had
a tough road trip, but everybody goes through them. Everybody
tries their best to take our wins away from us that we get, but
it don't matter, whoever we play we're going to give it our
all."

"That is no excuse for us (four games in five nights),"
Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "I was very disappointed.
I told our guys after the game there is no excuse. We don't
come out with energy and concentration. There is no excuse."

The Knicks never trailed after Crawford hit a 3-pointer just 33
seconds into the contest. They led by 16 after one and were up
41-19 when Robinson hit a shot from the arc with just over six
minutes remaining in the first half.

The Wizards came back and closed out the half with a 12-4 spurt,
which brought them within 51-41 on DeShawn Stevenson's
3-pointer with four-tenths of a second remaining before
halftime.

Washington also closed to within 53-47 when Caron Butler stole
Crawford's pass and coasted in for a dunk with 9:17 remaining in
the third. It then withstood an 8-0 run by the Knicks and were
within 77-72 through three.

New York appeared to have the victory in hand as it opened a
14-point edge with 7:22 remaining on Renaldo Balkman's
three-point play. Nearly three minutes later, Washington was
within 96-87 on a basket by Roger Mason Jr., but Crawford and
Robinson finished off the win with jumpers.

The Wizards failed to win their fourth in a row and lost for
just the second time in their last seven games. This loss came
after two hard-fought wins over Boston and a four-point overtime
triumph in Atlanta five nights ago.

"It is four games in five nights," Butler said. "We beat Boston
twice and we beat Atlanta in overtime. This was a game where
they got to a lot of loose balls and outhustled us."

One night after scoring 21 points - including many crucial
baskets - in Monday's victory, Butler collected 24, eight
rebounds and six assists and Antawn Jamison scored 13 of his 21
in the third for Washington, which shot 39.5 percent (32-of-81).